Josh Kalis is one of the most legit pro's in the game. His style is flawless, and you know he's gonna come raw with no gimmicks because that's what he's been doing for past fifteen years. From Dallas, to SD, to SF, to Philly and NYC, to Michigan and Chicago - Kalis has held it down from city to city and state to state and continues to put out parts like clockwork that are always on point. We recently got Josh to answer a few questions about where skateboarding has taken him, here's what he had to say...

48 Blocks: I remember seeing you on an Invisible tour in the Midwest back in the day. If I remember correctly the rumor was that they picked you up in Texas. Were they your first sponsor and how did you end up on that tour?

Josh: I met Jamie when I was living in Philly a year or two before I saw him in Dallas. I lived in Dallas for a minute, but got locked up for 6 months. When I got out I heard Jamie was coming to Dallas. I linked up with him, hooked him up with some weed, girls, ect. Me and my homie were hanging out with him that night but weren't really feelin him and his homey Kirk. Once Jaimie and Kirk were hooking up with the chicks, me and my boy started to walk out of the hotel. We were just going to bounce. Jamie opened the door and was like "Yo,where you guys going?" I decided to stay and chill. The next day he asked me if I still skated. I told him I didn't even have a set up. He hooked me up with a Invisible board, ventures, swiss, and spitfire wheels. We went shredding for two or three days - I think I clocked two or three minutes of footy. He was super stoked. After he went back to Cali he told me to meet him on this tour they were doing. I agreed. When I got on the trip, Jamie wasn't on it. He had already quit. But I said fuck it I'm gonna go. That's pretty much how it went down. After I managed to get to Cali, he just transfered me to Toy Machine.

Actually, Renegade was my first sponsor. It was owned by Mark Partain. I was hella little. I think I got a board every 2 months. It was tight. Then I rode for Shine, owned by Kevin Staab. Same deal - both were like flo steez. My first real hook up was H-street. Just after all the ill dudes quit. Then I got locked up and booted off.

48 Blocks: How did you end up in SF and make the transition to Alien Workshop?

Josh: There was seriously so much shit going on in that time. After I got to SD with only the clothes on my back, I lived at Jamie's house. Right across the street was the Alien house. I used to just chill, drink 40's, and play dominoes with Dyrdek, Clyde, Bird, John Drake, Pitre, Lenny, Bokma, Weiss, ect. It was seriously the craziest party house ever. It was such a better scene for me than Jamie's. One time I was there and Dyrdek and them kept saying to me "I heard you ride for the Workshop" over and over. I went back to Jamie and told him. I told him I think they were vibing me and I was going to fight all of them. Jamie's advise was to ask them why they were vibing. So I went over there the next night and they (Dyrdek and them) said the same shit. I told them to chill and if they were trying to vibe me out we were going to throw down. Dyrdek told me to chill and if I ever wanted to ride for the Workshop for real to let him know. I raised my eyebrows like "DAMN!"

On a trip to SF, I decided that was the place I needed to be - skate and chill all day at the spot. So I got a couple roommates together and we got a SICK ASS spot right on the corner of Geary and Fillmore. The apartment building was brand new. We got this chick I know from MI to have her dad co-sign. I made rent by selling boards and shit. I was getting shoes from Vans, Etnies, Dukes and Duffs. I skated either the Vans or some Adidas and sold the rest to make rent. That shit doesn't really fly so well today.

48 Blocks: What was the vibe like in SF back then in the heyday? You weren’t from the city, did you experience the EMB vibe?

Josh: The vibe was exactly how I pictured it. It was also exactly the vibe I was a part of in Dallas. Everyone was a dick. To me, that's how it should be. I had to earn my street cred regardless of if I could skate or not. And I knew it before I got there, I understood that someone like me moving there wasn't going to be instantly accepted. So I was prepared to deal with what was coming. And it came! First day at EMB, Jocko rolled up and wanted to skate my board. I knew he wanted to roll off with it but I let him skate it. I told him if he jetted off with it, I would find him. I kicked him my board. He skated across the plaza, looked at me looking at him and he skated it right back then asked me were I was from and kicked it back to me. I don't know if he was testing me or not but every day I rolled down there I was ready for that day's test. I think my attitude and the locals having the same mentality as myself gave me a pretty smooth transition. I got another one, more FTC based though. I went into FTC with Drake Jones. I asked if I could borrow a board and pay it back when I got my box, the dude was like "Who the fuck are you? You aint in the black book" and straight peaced me out! Drake had to put it on his account. I finally made it in the black book at some point - but it was cool. 

48 Blocks: Talk a little about Lenny Kirk and your friendship with him – you were roommates at one point. How did you guys meet and when was the last time you spoke to Lenny?

Josh: I met Lenny in SD. He was / is crazy as hell. Before he went religious he was borderline psycho. Me and him rolled hard as fuck. I was rockin a tech nine pinky ring, tech nine earring, and a gold front. Lenny would always rock cornrows, tats, and some ill camos. But he never knew when to back down. We had to roll past the Fillmore projects everyday, he would roll his window down bumpin' his system and mad dog all the thugs chillin' in front of their buildings. I'd be like "roll the fuckin' window up" he'd be like, "naw, fuck them." He was always looking to front on people. It was pretty funny. We were super good friends but we almost fought on a daily basis. Some how we never did. 

Last time I spoke with him was maybe 6 months ago. He called me from prison. I was pissed because after he already did a few years I spent two weeks skating with him in the city. It was tight! Then he called to tell me he got locked up again. It sucked. 

48 Blocks: You broke out to Philly and were a central figure in the legendary Love Park era. What made you decide to go East?

Josh: I basically started skating on the East Coast. I lived in Queens, NY with my mom for awhile. Causing havoc in the city was the illest. Dodging people, scaring old people, ect - I loved it. My mom moved from NY to Philly. After some shit happened in Dallas, I had to bounce out of there. So I moved back in with my mom. I spent so much time downtown she booted me out. I ended up living with Jerry Fisher then Ricky Oyola. After some pretty crazy beef with Ricky, I moved back to MI for a minute, then back to Dallas, then SD (the time with Jamie). The "Josh and Stevie" Love days didn't happen until the second time I moved there. That was after my stint in SF. I actually moved to Chicago after SF. I took my chick to Philly on a trip. That's the trip I saw Stevie, not skating and all that. I remembered how ill Love was when I lived there before and decided right then - Philly, that's where I want to be.

48 Blocks: So how did you go about getting Stevie back into skating?

Josh: I moved him into my house. Gave him boards and made sure he had shoes. We just fed off each other. I tried to get him on the Workshop. How sick would that have been?! The dudes in the office just didn't trust that he was going to put forth the effort. Damn - they missed out, no doubt. I think I'm still kinda bitter. 

48 Blocks: What memories stand out to you from that Love era?

Josh: Seriously, it was all so much fun. It was our version of EMB. Nothing has nor will ever have the progression that EMB saw, but we did our thing. 

48 Blocks: Once Love was shut down, you relocated to Michigan and spent a lot of time skating Chicago. What made you choose to head to the Midwest as opposed to California where most of the industry is?

Josh: I moved to MI because my chick wanted to move there. We have a daughter and didn't want to put her into Philly's inner city schools or some bunk ass private school. So we went to MI where the public schools are good. Also my chick's family lives there and she wanted to spend some time with them. It was pretty tough for me. I'm not really feelin' MI too much. Thankfully Chicago isn't very far away. Also, it has made me travel way more than when I lived in Philly. That's always a good thing. But yeah, MI is tough. Boring - I do like the lakes though.

48 Blocks: You’ve lived in so many different cities and traveled extensively, what are your top three and why?

Josh: I honestly can't give you three. I learned so much about life and respect living in Dallas. So I love that place. Philly gave me some of the best times skating that I could ever ask for. Same with NYC. I used to go to NYC EVERY weekend. Chicago is the hidden treasure. After 11 PM the city is yours. No bike cops. The people there are real as fuck. SF was one of my childhood dreams to make it out there and not only skate, but to be accepted by the locals. Barcelona - same thing. For me getting accepted is more important than anything else. And all these cities gave me respect, and more than that - some of the closest friends. I consider them my family. That's the tightest part about all the cities I've lived in. I can go to any of these cities and I have a home with a full crew. 

48 Blocks: You’ve been consistently putting out video parts for the last fifteen or so years – how often do you film? Are you constantly logging tricks or do you go out and get the job done over a few months and then take some chill time?

Josh: I film quite a bit. It makes things fun. I don't like to film just to sit on footy though. I honestly can't stand video parts these days. People sitting on footage for fucking years. Just so they can have the "ultimate" part. Shit's whack. Kinda "fake" if that makes sense. I like to get a grip of footy then let it come out. I like to film while having fun with people. Trying to film tricks because I want to not because I feel like I have to. Maybe it's because I like mixtapes better than the fully produced album. I like my shit to come out regularly and true rather than making some big production representing something that isn't me on the daily.

48 Blocks: What does Josh Kalis do when he’s not skateboarding, do you have any hobbies that you are into?

Josh: I like to work on my cars. That's pretty much my only hobby. I'm building a crazy 69 Camaro right now. Twin Turbo 1000hp. All modern suspension, wheels, breaks, ect. It will handle like a BMW but it's old school but new school!

48 Blocks: Talk about being a parent and professional skateboarder.

Josh: It's tight. It's so much easier to raise a kid when you've been through so much. It seems natural for me to teach my daughter common sense. That to me is the most important thing to have. She gets to travel so much. Spain, France, coast to coast, ect. She gets to experience life through my eyes. When I leave on a trip she doesn't sweat it at all. She is so used to it,  she actually gets excited when I leave. Then she gets to sleep in my bed. For me, I miss her but when I talk to her she's so cool about everthing. Maybe I got lucky with a kid that's pretty easy going or maybe my lifestyle rubbed off on her and she just "get's it" better. It's pretty tight. 

48 Blocks: Marquise Henry was in your Mind Field part and in your Bangin’ clip – how often do you skate with him, is he your new protege?

Josh: Not so much "protege" but I'm backing this kid. He is a skater through and through. Hard to find these days. He's got so much heart and respect for skateboarding. He doesn't do it for the wrong reasons. He actually has fun skating. Coolest dude. One of my favorite dudes to skate with these days. Him and Matt Miller.

48 Blocks: How far along is the DC video and what we can expect? Is it going to be as big of a production as the last one?

Josh: I'm not sure how far along it is but it is mainly focusing on the ams. Wes, Marquise, Matt, Evan, Chaz, Greg, ect. Us pro's will have clips but it's mostly about them. I know it's going to be tight but probably not as big a production as the last one. But it is DC - who knows what happens.

48 Blocks: Being that you’re still on top of the game 15 years later and haven’t shown any signs of slowing down – did you imagine your skate career would have this much longevity when you started out and where do you see yourself in the future?

Josh: I never even think about longevity. Honestly, it feels like yesterday that I lived in Philly and was going to NYC every weekend. It's pretty crazy that it was so long ago. I really have no intention of slowing down. I feel like my skating is better now than before. Same amount of motivation, same amount of energy. There is still a bunch of things I want to do. So many tight ass tricks to be done. The future for me is more skating.